As well as being a fan of all things 1950s, I also have quite a fascination of 19th Century/Victorian design - architecture in particular. We are lucky to have plenty of elegant Victorian buildings here in Hove, and following a tour of one of them - Palmeira Mansions, I took up the invitation to help with some much needed restoration of this opulent building.

Here is a brief history of the building as found on the site of the English Language Centre who have owned this place since 1962.

“Number 33 Palmeira Mansions was purchased in 1889 by Arthur William Mason at the age of twenty-nine. A widower after the tragic death of his first wife, he moved into the house with a young daughter Christina.

In the early years of living at the house Mr Mason used the family fortune to refurbish the interior in a lavish eclectic mix of fixtures (the best that money could buy)”

It is one of these lavish rooms that I am currently restoring; carefully cleaning the ceiling of it’s tobacco stains and general dirt. Here are a few shots of the process. It’s a long but very satisfying task but we need a load more help to get it completely back to its former glory. You are welcome to get in touch with me if you fancy lending us a hand - no experience necessary, just a fairly good head for heights that would be useful to clamber up the scaffolding to the ceiling!